Customized location tracking service

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method in which a tracker configures a notification condition on the basis of an authorization policy predetermined by a trackee so that a location information server provides a customized location tracking service according to the notification condition. The method includes: (a) registering an authorization policy of a trackee in order to determine whether a location tracking service requested by a tracker will be accepted; (b) configuring a customized location information notification condition by a tracker; (c) requesting the customized location tracking service by the tracker; and (d) providing the customized location tracking service by a location information server on the basis of the configured authorization policy and the customized location information notification condition.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2006-0122635, filed on Dec. 5, 2006, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to providing a customized locationtracking service which provides location information when a certaincondition is satisfied according to a predetermined policy of notifyinglocation information when the customized location tracking service isrequested once, and more particularly, to a method of providing thecustomized location tracking service in which the path of a trackee isreceived, or the trackee's presence in a specific area is indicated, ata specific time slot or at a periodical time interval, by determining atemporal notification condition and/or a spatial/local notificationcondition.

The present invention also relates to providing a tracking devicerequired to provide the customized location tracking service, a trackedmobile terminal, a location information server providing the locationtracking service according to a notification condition, and a system.

This work was supported by the IT R&D program of MIC/IITA. [2006-P10-39,A Study on Standarization for MoIP Applications and VoIP Interworking.]

2. Description of the Related Art

With the explosive growth of their use, mobile communication terminalsare now regarded as personal necessities of life. This has resulted in agrowing demand from users who want a variety of value added services. Amobile terminal can be used while in motion, for locating a user whocarries the mobile terminal. Such a location tracking service may beused in various fields, for example, to track down an offender bylocating a terminal that has been used in a crime, to find a lost child,to find a friend, and to find a lost mobile terminal.

In the conventional location tracking service using a mobile terminal,when a location tracking service is asked the location of a trackedmobile terminal, only the current location information on the trackedmobile terminal is intermittently provided. Thus, in order to know thepath of a certain mobile terminal, the location tracking service has tobe periodically requested, which is inconvenient. Also, the locationtracking service can be provided only at the request of the trackedmobile terminal. In response to the request, the location information isintermittently transmitted to a tracker. Therefore, a service such as apath tracking service cannot be achieved at a specific time slot.

Besides this problem, the conventional location tracking service lacksvarious applications, for example, an application service based on ageographical location, which would enable various applications. Forexample, a proxy driving service provider may attempt to send a shortmessage service (SMS) publicity message to customers who have anexperience of using a proxy driving service. In order to increase thepossibility of providing the proxy driving service, the message may besent to target customers who dine with coworkers after work in an areawhere the proxy driving service is available. In addition, anadvertisement message may be not sent to customers who do not need theservice. Parents at home could monitor the whereabouts of their childrenwhenever the children are more than a certain distance from home.Therefore, this method may be used to prevent a lost child or a crimesuch as kidnapping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a customized location tracking servicewhich provides location information when a certain condition issatisfied according to a predetermined policy of notifying locationinformation when the customized location tracking service is requestedonce, and more particularly, to a method of providing the customizedlocation tracking service in which the path of a trackee is received, orthe trackee's presence in a specific area is indicated, at a specifictime slot or at a periodical time interval, by determining a temporalnotification condition and/or a spatial/local notification condition.

The present invention also provides a tracking device required toprovide the customized location tracking service, a tracked mobileterminal, a location information server providing the location trackingservice according to a notification condition, and a system.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of providing a customized location tracking service, including:(a) registering an authorization policy of a trackee in order todetermine whether a location tracking service requested by a trackerwill be accepted; (b) configuring a customized location informationnotification condition by a tracker; (c) requesting the customizedlocation tracking service by the tracker; and (d) providing thecustomized location tracking service by a location information server onthe basis of the registered authorization policy and the customizedlocation information notification condition.

The authorization policy of the trackee may include: a policy thataccepts only an intermittent location tracking service; a customizedlocation tracking policy; a pending policy or non-configuration policythat does not determine an additional authorization policy; and a policythat rejects the location tracking service, and the customized locationtracking service may be provided by the location information server onthe basis of the location information notification condition only whenthe authorization policy is configured to the customized locationtracking policy.

If the authorization policy of the trackee is the policy that acceptsonly an intermittent location tracking service, the customized locationtracking service may be terminated after providing an intermittentservice for notifying information on the current location of thetrackee, and if the authorization policy of the trackee is the policythat rejects the location tracking service, the customized locationtracking service may be terminated without having to provide anadditional service.

If the authorization policy of the trackee is the pending policy or thenon-configuration policy that does not determine an additionalauthorization policy, in (d), the registration of the authorizationpolicy of the trackee may be resumed by additionally inquiring thetrackee whether the authorization policy for the tracker will beaccepted.

The location information notification condition may be a local locationinformation condition and/or a temporal location information condition.A local domain may be determined by the local location informationcondition, and/or the local location information condition may besatisfied when the trackee enters and/or may leave the specific area.

The temporal location information condition may be satisfied when thelocation information is periodically transmitted, and/or when thelocation information is transmitted at a specific time slot, and/or whenthe location information may be transmitted at one or more differenttime points.

The method may further include authenticating the tracker by thelocation information server prior to the provision of the customizedlocation tracking service on the basis of the determined authorizationpolicy and the location information notification condition after thecustomized location tracking service is requested by the tracker. Whenthe tracker requests the customized location tracking service, therequest may further include authentication information on the tracker inorder to authenticate the tracker.

The method may further include, prior to the authenticating of thetracker by the location information server, establishing a securechannel between a tracking mobile terminal and the location informationserver before the authentication information on the tracker is sent fromthe tracking mobile terminal to the location information server.

The location tracking service may be terminated when the authenticationon the tracker is not successful.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda tracking device requesting a customized location tracking service,including: a notification condition configuration unit that configures alocation information notification condition of a trackee; a servicerequester that requests a location information server to provide alocation information service on the basis of the location informationnotification condition; and a service receiver that receives therequested location information service from the location informationserver.

The tracking device may further include a display unit that displays thereceived location information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile terminal device used in a location tracking service, including:a notification condition configuration unit that configures a locationinformation notification condition of a trackee; a service requesterthat requests a location information server to provide a locationinformation service on the basis of the location informationnotification condition; a service receiver that receives the requestedlocation information service from the location information server, adisplay unit that displays the notification condition and/or thereceived service; a location information receiver that receives arequest sent from the location information server to obtain the locationinformation; and a location information transmitter that transmits therequested location information to the location information server.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda location information server providing a customized location trackingservice, including: a service request receiver that receives from atracking device a service request so as to obtain location informationon a tracked device; a notification condition analyzer that analyzes anotification condition requested by the tracking device; a locationinformation requester that requests the tracked device to providelocation information on the basis of the notification condition inresponse to the service request; an information receiver that receivesthe location information from the tracked device; and a servicetransmitter that transmits the received location information to thetracking device on the basis of the notification condition.

The location information server may further include a userauthentication check unit that checks for authentication information ona tracker.

The location information server may further include a buffer that storesthe location information on the tracked device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda system providing a customized location tracking service, including: atracking device that requests a location information service; a locationinformation server that wirelessly requests a tracked device to providelocation information when the location information service is requestedand then provides the location information service on the basis of anotification condition of the tracking device; and a tracked mobileterminal that provides the location information when the locationinformation server requests the location information.

The tracking device and the location information server may communicatewith each other by a wired network and/or a wireless network.

A secure channel may be established between the tracking device and thelocation information server in order to exchange user authenticationinformation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a customized location trackingservice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a flowchart of a procedure performed by a locationinformation server that provides a customized location tracking serviceon the basis of an authorization policy according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2B is a flowchart of a procedure to be combined with that of FIG.2A in order to show the whole procedure performed in the locationinformation server;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a location tracking service onthe basis of a notification condition according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal used as a tracking deviceand/or a tracked device of a location tracking service according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an overall system that provides a locationtracking service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, well-known functions or elements are notdescribed in detail since they would obscure the invention inunnecessary detail. The meaning of terminology used herein should beinterpreted in consideration of the context of the present invention,and may vary depending on the user's or operator's intention, or customsin the art. Therefore, all meaning should be determined with referenceto the entire specification.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a customized location trackingservice according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIG. 1, in order to provide the customized location tracking serviceto a tracker, the tracker performs operation S120 of requesting thelocation tracking service. Operation S100 of registering anauthorization policy has to be performed by a trackee before thelocation tracking service is requested. The registration of theauthorization policy, as shown in FIG. 1, may be performed by an agency110 of a mobile communication provider. The agency 110 of FIG. 1 isshown only as an example. Thus, the authorization policy registrationmay be achieved via a service center, a telephone, or a Web site overthe Internet (all of which not shown). That is, any method may be usedas long as the authorization policy is achieved for providing service.Examples of the authorization policy may include (1) a policy thataccepts only a conventional intermittent location tracking service, (2)a policy that accepts a customized location tracking service, (3) apending policy or non-configuration policy that does not determine anadditional authorization policy, and (4) a policy that rejects alocation tracking service. Among these policies (1) through (4), thecustomized location tracking service of the present invention will befully provided when the policy of (1) is determined, and will berestrictively provided when the policy of (3) is determined. Details ofthese policies (1) through (4) will be described below with reference toFIG. 2.

If the policy for accepting the customized location tracking service ofthe present invention is determined in operation S100, whereby anauthorization policy is registered, the procedure proceeds to operationS110 whereby a location information notification condition is configuredby the tracker. A tracking device 120 can determine the notificationcondition by various methods.

The notification condition may be in association with local locationinformation or temporal location information. In some cases, thenotification condition may be a condition in which the local locationinformation and the temporal location information are properly combined.Various embodiments implemented under these notification conditions willbe described below in greater detail with reference to FIG. 3.

The tracking device 120 requests location information on a trackeddevice 140. The tracking device 120 is not limited to a mobile terminalas shown in FIG. 1, and thus various mobile terminals capable ofinteractive communication may be used. Examples of the tracking device120 may include all kinds of portable terminals (e.g. a mobile phone, apersonal communication service (PCS) phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), etc), a laptop computer, a general desktop computer, and anInternet TV (all of which not shown). In general, the tracking device120 has a display unit that displays location information. However, thepresent invention is not limited thereto. Thus, as long as a buffer isbuilt in so as to store the location information, the locationinformation may be displayed on or transmitted through an additionaldisplay unit by a user interface.

Instead of a mobile terminal used for wireless communication, if thetracking device 120 is a desktop computer or Internet TV, the trackingdevice 120 may be connected to a location information server 130 by awired network instead of a wireless network.

After operation S110 of configuring a notification condition, thetracking device 120 performs operation S120 of requesting a service fromthe location information server 130 under the notification condition.Upon receiving the service request, the location information server 130checks for the location information notification condition requested bythe tracker. If the condition is satisfied, the location information onthe trackee is provided to the tracking device 120.

Although not shown, an operation of authenticating the tracker may beoptionally performed prior to the customized location informationservice of the present invention. Service request data, which istransmitted when the tracking device 120 requests a service for theauthentication operation, may include user authentication information.Since the user authentication information is confidential information,an operation of forming a secure channel may be performed prior to theauthentication operation between the tracking device 120 and thelocation information server 130. The user information is transmitted tothe location information server 130 through the secure channel. Thelocation information server 130 starts to provide the locationinformation if authentication is successful in the operation ofauthenticating the tracker on the basis of the transmitted userinformation. If the authentication is not successful, the service is notprovided but terminated. After the location information server 130provides the location information on the trackee at the request of thetracker, the location information server 130 stands by until an eventcontroller notifies that an event has been generated. The eventgeneration occurs when the location information on the trackee ismodified, or a predetermined time has passed, or a service terminationrequest is received. By utilizing the event controller, a redundancyproblem can be solved which occurs when the location information server130 continuously transmits the location information on the trackeddevice 140 to the tracking device 120 or stores the location informationin the buffer. As a result, buffer efficiency can be enhanced, and anexcessive interruption of task of the location information server 130can be prevented. For example, if the trackee remains at a fixedlocation, it would be inefficient and wasteful to continuously updateand store the location information. Instead, the event controller may beefficiently used so that the location information is updated only whenthe location changes significantly. If the notification condition isdetermined to a specific time slot, the event controller may generate aspecific event when the time slot is over so as to execute an interruptfor terminating the customized location tracking service.

The location information server 130 monitors the location information onthe tracked device 140 via a base station 150. The tracked device 140may be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a PCS phone, a PDA, ora palmtop computer. In some cases, the tracked device 140 may be aninteractive communication device built into a transportation vehiclesuch as a train, a ship, or an automobile.

The tracked device 140 may include a receiver that receives the locationinformation from the location information server 130 and a transmitterthat transmits the location information to the location informationserver 130. When using the non-configuration policy or the pendingpolicy, the tracked device 140 receives an additional request on anauthorization policy from the location information server 130 andtransmits a proper authorization policy in order to provide a relevantservice.

FIG. 2A is a flowchart of a procedure performed by a locationinformation server that provides a customized location tracking serviceon the basis of an authorization policy according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. FIG. 2B is a flowchart of a procedure to becombined with that of FIG. 2A in order to show the whole procedureperformed in the location information server.

First, a service request message for requesting the location trackingservice is transmitted from a tracking device to a location informationserver (operation 210). In general, the service request message containsuser authentication information. For secure communication, a securechannel is established between the tracking device and the locationinformation server before the service request message is transmitted.According to the user authentication information transmitted togetherwith the service request message, the location information server checksfor user authentication (operation 212). If the authentication is notsuccessful, the service is terminated. In this case, the locationinformation server transmits an authentication failure message (e.g.“authentication failure”) to the tracking device. Thus, a tracker canrecognize that a service permission has not been granted. If theauthentication is successful, the location information server mayoptionally send a message (e.g. “authentication successful”) to thetracker. Thereafter, a service provision method is determined accordingto an authorization policy (operation 214). As described above, theauthorization policy may include (1) a policy that accepts only aconventional intermittent location tracking service, (2) a policy thataccepts a customized location tracking service, (3) a pending policy ora non-configuration policy that does not determine an additionalauthorization policy, and (4) a policy that rejects a location trackingservice.

The following descriptions assume that the authorization policy is thatof (2) that accepts a customized location tracking service(authorization=advanced_accepted). In this case, according to theprocedure of the present invention, an operation of analyzing thelocation information notification is performed by the tracker.Thereafter, according to the notification condition, the locationinformation server provides the location information on a trackee.Specifically, the location information server checks for whether acondition for providing the location information is satisfied on thebasis of the notification condition (operation 220). If it is satisfied,customized location information is provided (operation 222). At thismoment, an event controller waits for an event (operation 224). Asdescribed above, an interrupt for the occurrence of an event is receivedwhen a specific event (e.g. location change, time slot over, etc) takesplace (operation 226), and it is determined whether the specific eventis an event for terminating the location tracking service (operation228). If the event directs to terminate the location tracking service,the service is terminated, and otherwise, the procedure returns tooperation 200 of configuring the notification condition. Thereafter, theoperation of providing the location tracking service is repeated on thebasis of the notification condition.

Now, the following description assumes that the authorization policy isthat of (1) that accepts only the conventional intermittent locationtracking service (authorization=accepted) (operation 216). If this isthe case, the condition of “authorization=advanced_accepted” is notsatisfied in operation 214. Thus, the procedure proceeds to operation216 of FIG. 2B. The trackee provides location information once at therequest of the tracker (operation 230) and then no longer provides thelocation information, and the service is then terminated. Accordingly,the tracking device has to request the service whenever the locationtracking information is required, causing inconvenience.

Now, it will be assumed that the authorization policy is the pendingpolicy or non-configuration policy of (3) that does not determine anadditional authorization policy (authorization=pending). If this is thecase, referring to FIG. 2B, the location information serviceadditionally asks the trackee whether an authorization policy on thetracker is accepted (operation 232). After determining whetherauthorization is accepted or not, the authorization policy determined bythe tracked device is received (operation 234). Then, locationinformation is intermittently provided on the basis of the authorizationpolicy, or the customized location policy is provided.

Lastly, it will be assumed that the authorization policy is that of (4)that rejects a location tracking service. If this is the case, thetrackee refuses to provide the location information, and thus, referringto FIG. 2B, the result of operation 218 is negative. Therefore, theprocedure is terminated without providing the service. Optionally, thelocation information server may send a message of “service terminated”to the tracking device so that the tracking device recognizes that theservice will no longer be provided.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a location tracking service onthe basis of a notification condition according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The notification condition may be determined invarious manners according to customers' needs. For example, referring toFIG. 3, regarding a notification condition based on locationinformation, the location information may be provided to a tracker 301under the condition that a trackee 305 is out of a specific area 309 oris farther than a predetermined distance 307 from the tracker 301. Onthe other hand, the location information may be provided under thecondition that the trackee 305 enters the specific area 309 or is withinthe predetermined distance 307 from the tracker 301. The tracker 301 mayallow the predetermined distance 307 from the tracker 301 to be includedin the notification condition. Specifically, a small terminal used asthe tracked device according to the embodiment of the present inventionmay be carried by children for the purpose of lost child prevention ormay be carried by senior citizens who suffer from senile dementia, inorder to know their whereabouts. By doing so, when a child is fartherthan the predetermined distance 307 from home, or when a child in apublic garden or an amusement park moves farther than the predetermineddistance 307 from his or her parents, the location tracking serviceimmediately starts so that the parents can locate the child by usingterminals.

The present embodiment may also be applicable not only when the trackeeis father than the predetermined distance 307 but also when the trackeeis within the predetermined distance 307. For example, a proxy drivingservice provider may attempt to send a short message service (SMS)publicity message to customers who have an experience of using a proxydriving service. In this case, publicity will be effective if themessage is sent to customers who are in the area where the proxy drivingservice is available. The example may be further effective if thenotification condition is combined with a temporal condition as well asa local/spatial condition. For example, the notification condition maybe determined so that the location information can be provided only whenexisting customers dine with coworkers within a predetermined distancefrom a proxy driving service provider (as indicated by 315 in FIG. 3).As a result, the location tracking service is only provided whennecessary, thereby attracting prospective customers.

Of course, it is natural that the notification condition may bedetermined not only under the local/spatial condition but also under thetemporal condition alone. For example, for a schoolchild, the locationinformation may be received for a specific period of time after school.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal 400 used as a trackingdevice and/or a tracked device of a location tracking service accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. Although the mobile terminal400 is shown in the form of a general mobile phone in FIG. 4, asdescribed above, the mobile terminal 400 may be a portable hand-heldstand-alone terminal. Furthermore, the mobile terminal 400 may be aterminal built into a transportation vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mobile terminal 400 may be used by either atracker or a trackee. The mobile terminal 400 includes a servicerequester 451, a notification condition configuration unit 410, and aservice receiver 431. Furthermore, the mobile terminal 400 includes alocation information receiver 433 and a location information transmitter435 which are necessary elements for a tracked device. The mobileterminal 400 may include a display unit 420 that displays notificationcondition settings, location information, and a message to be exchangedwith another device. The service receiver 431 and the locationinformation receiver 433 may be provided together with a receiver 430that receives information from an external device, or may be integratedinto the receiver 430 as one unit. Likewise, the service requester 451and the location information transmitter 435 may be provided togetherwith a transmitter 450 or may be integrated into the transmitter 450 asone unit. The notification condition configuration unit 410 may operatein connection with a central processing unit (CPU) or a processorincluded in the mobile terminal 400. The notification condition may beconfigured by a user interface of the mobile terminal 400 such asbuttons or keys. Although not shown, the mobile terminal 400 may includea processor unit so as to control various operations. Furthermore, themobile terminal 400 may include a buffer that acts as a memory space tostore various information or messages.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an overall system that provides a locationtracking service according to an embodiment of the present invention. Aservice requester 501 in a tracking device 500 sends a service requestto a location information server 530. Then, a service request receiver531 in the location information server 530 receives the service request.A notification condition analyzer 533 in the location information server530 analyzes a notification condition. The location information server530 sends a location information request (as indicated by 580 in FIG. 5)to a tracked device 550. When the location information is received fromthe tracked device 550 (as indicated by 590 in FIG. 5), the locationinformation is received by location information receiver 537. Thelocation information may be temporarily stored in a buffer 539. Inassociation with the notification condition, an event controller (notshown) determines whether the location information will be transmittedor whether the service will be terminated. If the location informationis determined to be transmitted, the location information is transmittedby a service transmitter 541 (as indicated by 570 in FIG. 5). Thetracking device 500 displays content of the received service on adisplay unit 505.

According to the present invention, unlike the conventional servicewhich has intermittently provided location information on a trackee atthe request of a tracking device, a location information service can beperiodically provided so as to know the location of the trackee on thebasis of a notification condition determined by a tracker without havingto request the service each time. Since the location tracking service isprovided for the convenience of users under the current situation wherea mobile terminal is widely used, the present invention is expected tobe used in applications such as lost child prevention and efficientbusiness/service advertisement.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method of providing a customized location tracking service,comprising: (a) registering an authorization policy of a trackee inorder to determine whether a location tracking service requested by atracker will be accepted; (b) configuring a customized locationinformation notification condition by a tracker; (c) requesting thecustomized location tracking service by the tracker; and (d) providingthe customized location tracking service by a location informationserver on the basis of the registered authorization policy and thecustomized location information notification condition.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the authorization policy of the trackee comprises: apolicy that accepts only an intermittent location tracking service; acustomized location tracking policy; a pending policy ornon-configuration policy that does not determine an additionalauthorization policy; and a policy that rejects the location trackingservice, wherein the customized location tracking service is provided bythe location information server on the basis of the location informationnotification condition only when the authorization policy is configuredto the customized location tracking policy.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein if the authorization policy of the trackee is the policy thataccepts only an intermittent location tracking service, the customizedlocation tracking service is terminated after providing an intermittentservice for notifying information on the current location of thetrackee, and if the authorization policy of the trackee is the policythat rejects the location tracking service, the customized locationtracking service is terminated without having to provide an additionalservice.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein if the authorization policyof the trackee is the pending policy or the non-configuration policythat does not determine an additional authorization policy, in (d), theregistration of the authorization policy of the trackee is resumed byadditionally inquiring the trackee whether the authorization policy forthe tracker will be accepted.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thelocation information notification condition is a local locationinformation condition and/or a temporal location information condition.6. The method of claim 5, wherein a local domain is determined by thelocal location information condition, and/or wherein the local locationinformation condition is satisfied when the trackee enters and/or leavesthe specific area.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the temporallocation information condition is satisfied when the locationinformation is periodically transmitted, and/or when the locationinformation is transmitted at a specific time slot, and/or when thelocation information is transmitted at one or more different timepoints.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising authenticating thetracker by the location information server prior to the provision of thecustomized location tracking service on the basis of the determinedauthorization policy and the location information notification conditionafter the customized location tracking service is requested by thetracker.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein when the tracker requests thecustomized location tracking service, the request further includesauthentication information on the tracker in order to authenticate thetracker.
 10. The method of claim 8, further comprising, prior to theauthenticating of the tracker by the location information server,establishing a secure channel between a tracking mobile terminal and thelocation information server before the authentication information on thetracker is sent from the tracking mobile terminal to the locationinformation server.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the locationtracking service is terminated when the authentication on the tracker isnot successful.
 12. A tracking device requesting a customized locationtracking service, comprising: a notification condition configurationunit that configures a location information notification condition of atrackee; a service requester that requests a location information serverto provide a location information service on the basis of the locationinformation notification condition; and a service receiver that receivesthe requested location information service from the location informationserver.
 13. The tracking device of claim 12, further comprising adisplay unit that displays the received location information.
 14. Amobile terminal device used in a location tracking service, comprising:a notification condition configuration unit that configures a locationinformation notification condition of a trackee; a service requesterthat requests a location information server to provide a locationinformation service on the basis of the location informationnotification condition; a service receiver that receives the requestedlocation information service from the location information server. adisplay unit that displays the notification condition and/or thereceived service; a location information receiver that receives arequest sent from the location information server to obtain the locationinformation; and a location information transmitter that transmits therequested location information to the location information server.
 15. Alocation information server providing a customized location trackingservice, comprising: a service request receiver that receives from atracking device a service request so as to obtain location informationon a tracked device; a notification condition analyzer that analyzes anotification condition requested by the tracking device; a locationinformation requester that requests the tracked device to providelocation information on the basis of the notification condition inresponse to the service request; an information receiver that receivesthe location information from the tracked device; and a servicetransmitter that transmits the received location information to thetracking device on the basis of the notification condition.
 16. Thelocation information server of claim 15, further comprising a userauthentication check unit that checks for authentication information ona tracker.
 17. The location information server of claim 15, furthercomprising a buffer that stores the location information on the trackeddevice.
 18. The location information server of claim 15, furthercomprising an event controller that allows the location information tobe provided only when a specific event occurs, by checking for thenotification condition.
 19. The location information server of claim 18,wherein the specific event occurs when the location information on thetrackee is modified and/or when a time slot configured under thenotification condition is over.
 20. A system providing a customizedlocation tracking service, comprising: a tracking device that requests alocation information service; a location information server thatwirelessly requests a tracked device to provide location informationwhen the location information service is requested and then provides thelocation information service on the basis of a notification condition ofthe tracking device; and a tracked mobile terminal that provides thelocation information when the location information server requests thelocation information.
 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the trackingdevice and the location information server communicate with each otherby a wired network and/or a wireless network.
 22. The system of claim20, wherein a secure channel is established between the tracking deviceand the location information server in order to exchange userauthentication information.